Sacramento Sexual Harassment Law Blog

On behalf of Robin Perkins of Perkins & Associates posted in Whistleblowers on Friday, March 27, 2015.

Last week's blog post discussed how some people who were working for the Veterans' Affairs office shed light on how some paperwork was swept under the rug for years. If you recall from that blog post, one person was reassigned when she spoke up against the problem she saw in the office. That reassignment might be construed as retaliation because she opted to blow the whistle on the problem.

Whistleblowers are usually people who can't stand to see issues, misconduct and safety issues at work. These brave people opt to speak up about those problems even if means they might face backlash from it. Here's the thing: whistleblowers have protection from retaliatory measures that employers might take.

On behalf of Robin Perkins of Perkins & Associates posted in Whistleblowers on Thursday, March 19, 2015.

The United States and California have special protections for whistleblowers for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons is that the information whistleblowers provide sometimes sheds light on ways that companies or organizations are hurting people or doing things that shouldn't be done. A recent case in California shows how important it is for whistleblowers to step forward when they have information.

When a veteran wants benefits from the VA, they sometimes send in an informal claim. By law, a response has to be sent from the VA with an application. Sadly, thousands of veterans never got the response they should have received by law.

Last week, we let our readers know about how Ronda Rousey is taking a stand against sexual harassment in MMA gyms. Those aren't the only gyms that sexual harassment is prevalent in. Unfortunately, many athletes face sexual harassment from coaches and other players. Our California readers might be interested to know more about this horrible trend.

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education notes that any form of sexual harassment is a violation of ethical boundaries. The association further notes that sexual harassment has a significant impact on an athlete's performance in various areas, including personal performance, athletic performance and academic performance. Sexual relationships between coaches and athletes are considered unprofessional and an abuse of professional power.

With Ronda Rousey back in the spotlight, MMA fans might find some interesting results about a stand she is taking. Rousey has been using her fame to take a stand against alleged sexual harassment in some MMA gyms. Her stand against sexual harassment in these gyms started after she earned a spot on the American judo team that was heading to the 2008 Olympics. Our California readers might find the story interesting.

Rousey brought to light what she feels was an unfair practice by the USA's Judo governing body. Complaints against an official had been lodged by several females who say they were molested while they were teens by the man. Her complaint was that the governing body essentially turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the complaints.

In our entry last week, we discussed some points about quid pro quo harassment and what all it entails. Our California readers probably know by now that we don't believe in any type of harassment in the workplace. When it comes to quid pro quo harassment, some victims might be wary of speaking up because they fear the consequences. They might fear that they will be retaliated against. They might fear they will lose their job or have to take a pay cut. In all of those cases, the actions are unacceptable.

The laws in California and the federal law have specific protections in place for people who are victims of sexual harassment. No employer or representative of your employer can retaliate against you simply because you complained about sexual harassment. If they do, you have the right to take action regarding the sexual harassment and the retaliation.

In our previous blog post, we discussed the case of the judge who was being accused of sexual harassment. If you remember correctly, the person accusing him said that he was giving her lavish gifts. That story might have some of our California readers wondering about what constitutes quid pro quo harassment. There are several points that our readers might find interesting.

One point is that quid pro quo harassment means that an employee is required to do something for something. In most cases, this means an employee or potential employee would have to perform sexual favors in exchange for favor on the job. That favor on the job could be a raise, a promotion or simply job security. In all those cases, the employee or potential employee was subjected to quid pro quo harassment.

Many people think of judges as citizens who represent the type of behavior that is a model for everyone in the community. In most cases, that is the truth. As in any profession, however, there are sometimes instances in which judges might find themselves being accused of conduct that is unbecoming. That situation is one at the heart of a hearing that is coming up in April.

The judge in this case is being accused of sexually harassing his former court clerk. Despite her allegations, the judge asserts that he hasn't ever had an intimate or sexual relationship with the woman. She claims that he showered her with cash and gifts. He doesn't deny those allegations.

In the last post here, we discussed what constitutes a hostile work environment. Some of our California readers might be wondering if a situation they are dealing with at work would fall under the hostile work environment classification. One of the best ways to determine if that is the case would be to work with someone who is familiar with hostile work environments. We can help you make that determination.

There is an important aspect of a hostile work environment that our readers should understand. Any person can be a victim of a hostile work environment. Men can be victims. Women can be victims. Homosexuals, heterosexuals, bisexuals, polyamorous individuals and transgender individuals can all be victims of a hostile work environment. The victims can be single, married or committed.

We have often discussed how a hostile work environment is one of the possible ways that someone can be sexually harassed. This might have some of our California readers wondering what exactly constitutes a hostile work environment. Knowing how this is classified can help you determine if you have been a victim of a hostile workplace.

A hostile workplace occurs when the conduct of others continually affects your ability to perform your job duties satisfactorily. Generally, the actions of another that are causing the hostile work environment will be pervasive and severe. They will often seem to take over the workplace.

On behalf of Robin Perkins of Perkins & Associates posted in Retaliation on Thursday, January 22, 2015.

We have often discussed how employees should never have to deal with sexual harassment. All forms of sexual harassment at work are illegal. Despite that fact, some employees still deal with the harassment just because they don't feel comfortable reporting it. Some employees think they will be retaliated against for making complaints about harassment. What those employees might not realize is that there are protections for whistleblowers on both the federal and state levels of the law.

We don't want you to have to deal with harassment, and we don't want you to worry about retaliation. If you need to file a complaint about sexual harassment or if you have been retaliated against because you filed a complaint, let us help you. We can work with you to find out what happened and to help you learn your options for proceeding.

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